The Church in West Africa is looking at a variety of approaches to spread the Gospel and stem the tide of young people leaving for newer churches reported by Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS). Sound familiar to our readers?
The Church of the Province of West Africa has come up with a new methodology to help spread the Gospel while addressing the socio-economic aspects of the people in the Province.
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“I have advised all my bishops to develop departments with a specific role,” he explained. “For instance, the Diocese of Guinea has been given the task of developing a department of Liturgy and Worship for us to be relevant through the use of local languages so that people can really understand what the gospel means in their context.”
The Primate further explained: “We are determined to make Christ known within our own context; we are working hard to be relevant and see how we can not only spread the Word, but also find ways and means of dealing with the socio-economic context of our people.”
“We are looking for new entry points for ministry such as social justice issues; seeking to transform the unjust systems in our society; being vocal because the church has to be the voice of the voiceless,” he added. “This way we get to reinterpret the gospel within an African context.”
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Archbishop Johnson said he had also tasked the Diocese of Cameroon to take care of women, youth and children’s issues. ….
The Archbishop also addressed the challenge of young people leaving the Church for other churches. He said it is unfortunate that some young people are leaving the Church for the “newer churches” that might even have “questionable doctrines”.
“As the Anglican Church, we need to pick up that challenge by having both sound doctrine and lively music. [But] we have to first and foremost train the young people after identifying the gifts given them by the Holy Spirit,” said the Primate.